A PREFAB SOLUTION FOR REGIONAL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

With a projected figure of over 7,000 council-owned bridges throughout Australia that are scheduled for replacement, an Australian owned company called Lifting Point has designed a prefabricated bridge that can replace ageing timber stock.

The InQuik system includes abutments, wing walls, blade piers and decks, and at present offers spans of up to 12 metres certified to AS5100. Designs for up to 18 metre spans are also being finalised.

The system is engineered by SMEC and fabricated by ARC, so steel fixing certification is not required. The InQuik bridge is a semi-modular system, where the integrated steel formwork and reinforcing components are prefabricated offsite, then completed when concrete is poured on-site to form a single homogeneous mass. It is fully self-supporting and the formwork is aesthetic in its design. Beneath the stainless steel, trademarked ZAM steel or hot-dipped galvanised form is a conventional in-situ poured reinforced concrete bridge, with all the benefits that provides.

Peter Mahar is the first sales agent for InQuik and the system’s main focus is replacing small span timber beam bridges. ’We believe there’s over 2,000 of these council-owned bridges in NSW alone,’ he said.
The bridges have a projected lifespan of 100 years.■